Ben Platt Calls Out ‘Randos Being Jerks’ About His Age in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Trailer
Ben Platt calls out "randos being jerks" about his age in #DearEvanHansen trailer https://t.co/UNFuYUfsp4
- Variety (@Variety) May 19, 2021
Benn Platt is a 27 years old adult who portrays a 17 years old teen in the “Dear Evan Hansen” film adaptation , the movie is about an anxiety-riddled teen who gets tangled in a lie that spirals out of control. He originated the character on Broadway in 2017 to massive acclaim, so it’s understandable that Universal Pictures, wanted to Platt to reprise the role that made him a star.
After the trailer launched, Platt took to social media on Wednesday to respond to criticism about his casting. Like one Twitter user says: “That dude looks like he’s the principal.”
“thank u from the bottom of my [heart] for the outpouring of trailer love yesterday,” Platt tweeted (the tweet is now deleted). “the film required me to revisit areas of personal pain, so seeing ppl excited & moved makes it so deeply worth it. PS to the randos being jerks about age, read this great article and/or watch grease”
The article he talks about is this Vanity Fair article titled: “Dear Evan Hansen Trailer: Ben Platt on Going Back to High School, One Last Time.”
Director Stephen Chbosky says Platt’s age isn't as important as his vocal ability “You just have to hear him sing the songs,” said Chbosky “His understanding of the character is so complete and so profound. I couldn’t imagine anybody else playing it. It’s his part. I felt very strongly about it. And to me it was never even a consideration.”
Platt isn't the first adult to play a much younger person on screen (The cast of Beverly Hills 90210, Glee, Riverdale, himself in The Politician) and he hopes this is the last time he is going to play a character that is way younger than him:
“[I] grew my hair out, and was shaving to make sure that I didn’t look like I had five o’clock shadow all the time, you know,” . “I was just stripping myself into being a teenager for the last time. For what is hopefully the last time.”
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